Couple's dream Caribbean wedding in tatters after name on certificate is misspelled

By LUKE SALKELD

Last updated at 00:08 01 June 2007

When Mike Goodhall and Heidi Loader were married on a Caribbean beach in front of family and friends, it had all the makings of a dream wedding.

But that dream began to fade as soon as they returned home to find the marriage was not legal - because of a simple spelling mistake.

The couple discovered that a clerk in the Dominican Republic had misspelt Mr Goodhall's surname as Goodhael on the wedding certificate, rendering the union null and void.

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Mr Goodhall returned the document to Thomas Cook, which organised the wedding, after the travel company offered to sort out the problem and get it reissued.

But the original certificate has been lost - and six months after their beach ceremony, the couple still cannot officially use their married names or apply for passports, bank accounts or a joint mortgage because they do not have the right paperwork.

"It's a kick in the teeth - and it's all over a missing letter L. Thomas Cook gave us a letter saying we're married, but no banks will accept it."

He and 34-year-old Miss Loader paid more than £4,000 to Thomas Cook to organise their marriage last November at the Punta Cana beach resort.

They paid £2,600 for the wedding, which included flights, hotel, cake, flowers, champagne, and a judge to conduct the ceremony, and another £1,500 for Thomas Cook to handle the legalities of registering the marriage and getting the certificate sent to England.

The couple became aware of the problem with their certificate only when they returned from honeymoon and were having the document translated.

Mr Goodhall, a metal worker who lives with Miss Loader, a baker, in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, said the wedding was perfect - but everything went downhill from there.

He said Thomas Cook had offered a 'measly' £50 compensation, but added: "I told them where to stick it."

Thomas Cook said the blame lay with officials in the Dominican Republic and it is liaising with the authorities there responsible for reissuing the certificate.

A spokesman added that the firm is still investigating whether it was responsible for losing the wedding certificate.

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Couple's dream Caribbean wedding in tatters after name on certificate is misspelled